Transition

The Loss of Another Great Friend
Art was always the same; he greeted you with a big smile and his ever-present twinkling eyes. You knew from the beginning this man was special.

Mrs. Time considered him her second father, (and not because he needed another daughter. He already had four!) In her formative years he made sure she was included in most of their family outings and gatherings. When she moved on to college, he was there to make sure she didn't end up being "all work and no play." When she needed help and counsel in her early married years, he was there as part of her support system. After she met and married Father Time (OK, so he wasn't a good judge of character!) he added me to his list of friends and confidants.

Now here's the scary part - because I worked for a bank, by default I became his source of all wisdom and knowledge when it came to investments. Despite the fact that all my training was in commercial lending, he considered me his financial guru. OK. I will admit that a couple of my recommendations went well, but trust me - it was sheer luck. Nonetheless, whenever we met, we always spent 20 minutes catching up on our lives and kids, and then invariably he hit me with this question. "Now, what should I be buying now to make some money?"

Saying Goodbye
This past weekend,(Aug.1-3) we attended his funeral. It was very traditional which is something not often seen these days. After a church ceremony, he was buried with both military honors and the Masonic Scottish Rite ceremony. The list of his accomplishments is lengthy but the real proof of his life and his character was fully evident at a celebration of his life afterwards. Art and his wife Dorothy raised four daughters and a son, and grandchildren and great grandchildren too numerous to count. The sound of laughter and heart-warming conversations about things he said and did were in evidence everywhere.

The only thing missing was Art. He would have loved it. I even missed the ever present question; "What should I be buying now to make some money?" By the way, it was always said with a twinkle in his eyes that said, "Don't worry. If you're wrong it's only money!"